March 30, 2013

Character Interview: Bennett Saville @SusanMacNicol7 #RLFblog

In a departure from our usual interview today, author Susan
Mac Nicol is sharing a written “newspaper” article with her character, Bennett Saville.

News Article from The Cambridge Chat:

Interview: Bennett Saville, star of Gabriel, bares it all!

I’m waiting for my guest for the evening,
Bennett Saville, to get ready for his interview. He arrived a few minutes ago and
is now busy being fitted for the mike and dusted with the powder that takes the
sweaty shine off our faces under the glaring lights. His curly auburn hair is being
styled and I see him grimacing as they try to tame it. It’s fairly long, apparently
in preparation for his latest appearance as the sexy, cavalier, and slightly sinful
professor turned wizard in his TV series Gabriel. He smiles at me as I watch him,
appreciating the figure he cuts in his tailored grey suit, looking for the entire
world as if he’s just stepped out of a fashion magazine. He certainly wears clothes
well, and it—dare I say—looks effortless. I suppose his stylist put it all together.
Very, “Darling, what? This old thing?”

God, I envy his tailor at being able
to have their hands all over that well-developed and what looks like a pretty muscular
body. I chide myself for sounding like some sort of middle-aged groupie, feeling
my face flush as he grins at me. He has the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen on a man,
like emerald chips—

Leslie MacIntyre, for God’s sake,
contain yourself, woman!

That is easier said than done. I’m
about to interview an up-and-coming film star, a young man who’s handsome, sexy,
rich, successful, has seen his fair share of trouble and trauma, and is engaged
to a woman ten years older than he is and seven years older than me. His fiancée,
Cassie Wallace, is a beautiful woman. I’ve seen pictures of her on his arm in the
tabloid magazines and the glossies, and she looks nowhere near her reputed age;
classy, refined, and always has a rather mischievous smile on her face, as if she’s
saying, “Ladies, he’s mine. Eat your heart out.”

I want to ask him about his relationship
with her, but this man has a definite no-fly policy on discussions about his personal
life and his fiancée in particular. I once saw him walk out of an interview when
the interviewer wouldn’t stop prying. He’d been extremely polite about it, but his
resolve was unwavering.

He’s finally sorted to the satisfaction
of Mona, the makeup artist. She grins and gives me the thumbs up. Bennett Saville
walks over to the stage, settles himself down very elegantly into the rather uncomfortable
tub chair. I notice his plain black socks leading down into a rather recently shined
pair of what look like Armani shoes. Nice. The man has big feet, and that sends
me wandering along a path I really shouldn’t travel at this precise moment.

He looks at me enquiringly.

“You have a fascination with my socks?”
he drawls in amusement, in that voice like melted chocolate. I shiver.

“Better than your underwear,” I say
without thinking. Then I blush crimson.

He laughs loudly, his eyes crinkling
at the corners as he leans back and settles comfortably into the chair. “Touché.
At least I’m wearing some tonight,” he murmurs. When my jaw drops open, he chuckles
and then adjusts the mike on his lapel. His eyes gaze at me in challenge, and for
the life of me I can think of no smart-mouthed rejoinder.

I see Henry wave at me from behind
the camera, and I know we’re ready to rock and roll. The lights in the small studio
dim, the chattering ceases and there’s an air of expectancy. I’m ready. The intro
music cues to introduce the programme, and a minute later I’m sitting with my notepad
on my lap, leaning in to address the camera that’s beaming my face and Bennett’s
out into the world beyond. I’m also trying not to think about the man in front of
me with no underwear on....

About the Author

Susan Mac Nicol

Susan Mac Nicol (Sue to most people) was born in Headingly, Leeds
in the United Kingdom.
When she was eight years old, her family emigrated to Johannesburg
in South Africa, where she remained
until her and her family¹s return, with husband and two children, to the UK in December 2000.

Sue¹s career as a professional business woman was mainly in the
operational side of the Financial Services and Vehicle Leasing markets. Currently
her responsibilities have evolved to being the Regulatory Compliance Officer at
a financial services company in Cambridge.

Having written all her life, since her first short story was
published in a local youth competition when she was just eleven, in between the
day job and daily life, the inspiration for the Starlight series of romance novels
was born. Her characters, Cassie and Bennett, finally made their debut on the flickering
screen of a laptop. The character of Bennett was inspired by someone very special
and perhaps one day, if you get the chance to ask her or meet her, over a cup of
good coffee, Sue might just explain who this was. She will probably smile wryly
and say, "Hopefully without sounding like a teenage groupie."

Her first novel was submitted to various publishers and Boroughs
Publishing Group liked what they saw. Sue was offered a contract for her novels
and that, as they say in the classics, was that.

Sue is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Romantic
Novelists Association here in the UK. She lives in a town house in the
rural village of Bocking,
in Essex, with her husband, two children and a
mixed collie mongrel called Blu, so named because of his two different colour eyes
­blue and brown. Sue is a voracious e book reader and a self confessed geek and
Android phone fan. Her office is in her bag most days and without all her gadgets,
she confesses she could barely function.

2 comments:

Hi, Kayelle. Thanks so much for the wonderful spotlight on your as ever amazing blog site. I'm so glad we have your support at Boroughs. I hope everyone enjoys the rather sardonic interview with my main man, he's such a sexy gentleman.